Guy and his wife are sitting in the insurance office, negotiating the final payment settlement. I still remember those events in the early morning three weeks back. It happened so quickly. Sounded like a freight train was coming threw the house. Woke me up from a deep sleep. No sooner did the noise start when all the smoke alarms went off
The smoke was everywhere. Me and the misses, grabbed the cell phone and a couple of blankets and made our exit. The smoke was so thick by now; we could not see anything we had to feel our way out. The fire dept arrived to our home fully engulfed in smoke. They started breaking out all the windows then axing holes in the roof . The paramedics checked us out to see if we were ok. Finally the chief informed us everything was under control. And that we better make plans to find another place to stay. The smoke damage rendered the home uninhabitable. My wife asked if they found Rover, our 5 year old yellow Lab? The news was not good. Rover died instantly, when that first 2100-degree hot flash back blew out the bottom of the chimney. Rover too enjoyed the comfort and warmth of our wood stove; He would sleep right on the rug in front of it.
Flash back 7 years earlier. The installers seemed knowledgeable. I posted questions on Hearth.com One reply recommended that a damper block off plate was needed. No one ever went far enough to point out the blocker plate prevented flash back. Everybody was only concerned about preventing room air from escaping up the chimney. It was never explained that these bats are not a permanent solution. Condensation from normal humidity forms in the chimneys in the summer this moisture gets into the batts and causes them to sag. Once they sagged they no loner prevented the intrusion of room air. That cooled my uninsulated liner, to initiate and accelerate the formation of creosote. I remember the poster said it should be of ridged material and recommended at using 26 gage metal. They recommended using the full liner and all agreed the 316ti was the superior product. So why did it fail? I thought it was installed to prevent this from occurring? Unknown to all till the incident happened. The chimney had an offset. The installers had a hard time getting the liner threw the offset. They used excessive force and weaken the structural integrity of the liner.. The latest batch of wood could have been a bit dryer and with an offset, a natural shelf for creosote build up, disaster was imminent.
Back to the insurance office:. Here is your check for $50,000 to repair your home. You complain it’s not enough and produce your estimates. The agent is apologetic and explains his hands are tied and that the decision was not his. He then claims how he went to bat for you, to get you this much. Really it was the best he could possibly recover, for an un-permitted un- inspected installation that failed.
I did not take the time to explain the reasons of blocking off the damper, if I felt it un necessary. For those that put in batt insulation, I would not post that info and expose your shortcomings. I would be ashamed to admit I’m a cutting corners and advocating it is ok for others to follow suit. The installer this guy talked to , recommended this being an accepted, practice needs to get re-educated in a hurry. It’s installers like this, that guarantee my job security
The smoke was everywhere. Me and the misses, grabbed the cell phone and a couple of blankets and made our exit. The smoke was so thick by now; we could not see anything we had to feel our way out. The fire dept arrived to our home fully engulfed in smoke. They started breaking out all the windows then axing holes in the roof . The paramedics checked us out to see if we were ok. Finally the chief informed us everything was under control. And that we better make plans to find another place to stay. The smoke damage rendered the home uninhabitable. My wife asked if they found Rover, our 5 year old yellow Lab? The news was not good. Rover died instantly, when that first 2100-degree hot flash back blew out the bottom of the chimney. Rover too enjoyed the comfort and warmth of our wood stove; He would sleep right on the rug in front of it.
Flash back 7 years earlier. The installers seemed knowledgeable. I posted questions on Hearth.com One reply recommended that a damper block off plate was needed. No one ever went far enough to point out the blocker plate prevented flash back. Everybody was only concerned about preventing room air from escaping up the chimney. It was never explained that these bats are not a permanent solution. Condensation from normal humidity forms in the chimneys in the summer this moisture gets into the batts and causes them to sag. Once they sagged they no loner prevented the intrusion of room air. That cooled my uninsulated liner, to initiate and accelerate the formation of creosote. I remember the poster said it should be of ridged material and recommended at using 26 gage metal. They recommended using the full liner and all agreed the 316ti was the superior product. So why did it fail? I thought it was installed to prevent this from occurring? Unknown to all till the incident happened. The chimney had an offset. The installers had a hard time getting the liner threw the offset. They used excessive force and weaken the structural integrity of the liner.. The latest batch of wood could have been a bit dryer and with an offset, a natural shelf for creosote build up, disaster was imminent.
Back to the insurance office:. Here is your check for $50,000 to repair your home. You complain it’s not enough and produce your estimates. The agent is apologetic and explains his hands are tied and that the decision was not his. He then claims how he went to bat for you, to get you this much. Really it was the best he could possibly recover, for an un-permitted un- inspected installation that failed.
I did not take the time to explain the reasons of blocking off the damper, if I felt it un necessary. For those that put in batt insulation, I would not post that info and expose your shortcomings. I would be ashamed to admit I’m a cutting corners and advocating it is ok for others to follow suit. The installer this guy talked to , recommended this being an accepted, practice needs to get re-educated in a hurry. It’s installers like this, that guarantee my job security
